Animal lovers race to the rescue

Armando, a caramel-colored Chihuahua with dark brown spots and big round eyes, sat quietly in Manos’ arms as she recounted that special moment.

“I fell in love,” Manos said. “I held him the whole day and took him home.”

Manos, a 43-year-old retired Air Force veteran, rescued Armando at a Barks of Love pet adoption event in Lake Forest.

She was among some 1,500 runners and animal-lovers who gathered on Sunday at The Rescue Train’s Race for the Rescues inaugural Orange County event at the Great Park in Irvine.

The event benefits 15 local pet adoption agencies that help save the lives of dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and guinea pigs, said Lisa Young, director of The Rescue Train.

“Millions of animals, including cats and dogs, are euthanized every year,” Young said. “People have the power to save these animals lives and that’s basically what we want to instill.

“Today is a life-saving day.”

The Rescue Train has raised more than $2 million for animal groups since its inception in 2006, Young said. Earlier this year at their annual Los Angeles event, they raised $323,000, she said.

At the event, nonprofit pet adoption organizations from across Orange County gathered to raise awareness, educate and possibly provide a loving home for their animals to those attending the race.

Elizabeth Zarkos, president of Hanaeleh, a Trabuco Canyon-based horse rescue and advocacy group, said people don’t realize the large number of horses that were stranded and neglected by their owners when the recession hit.

“It’s expensive to take care of a horse,” Zarkos said. “When people lost their jobs, they lost the money to care for these horses. Many of the horses ended up abused and abandoned. We rehabilitate them and help them find new homes.”

The number one issue these agencies wanted to get across is the misperception that animals in a shelter are unfit or “broken,” said Manos, now an adoption coordinator at Barks of Love in Fullerton.

“People think that animals in a shelter are bad, have a character flaw or un-trainable, but that’s not true,” Manos said. “These pets need a second chance and are perfectly adoptable and will give you a lot of love.”